Merchandising for a Successful Día de los Muertos
Día de los Muertos occurs every year on November 1. Happening the day after Halloween, the holiday often gets confused for having a spooky nature, especially with its connection to spirits and death.
Truth is, it’s actually the complete opposite – Día de los Muertos is a celebratory holiday that honors life and death, while Halloween leans towards spooky and ghoulish fun. With their opposite natures, it’s important to distinguish Halloween and Día de los Muertos displays. Read on to learn important differences between the two holidays:
Color
Remember – Día de los Muertos is a celebration. It’s a lively holiday filled with bright, vibrant colors. However, it’s important to know that not any color will work. One of the main colors for the holiday is bright orange. Orange is used to decorate many ofrendas and is often found in marigolds (see below for the significance of marigolds). It’s believed that orange is the only color spirits can see from the afterlife.
A second color significant to the holiday is yellow. Yellow is another color found in marigolds, but it’s also a symbol of light because of the candles on the altar. There are other colors associated with the holiday, like pink, white, and blue.
Orange, black, and purple dominate the Halloween landscape. Although some colors overlap, don’t confuse these colors as a one size fits all between the two holidays. The shades for Halloween tend to have a darker, more mystic tone while, for Día de los Muertos, the colors are bright and vibrant.
Skulls
Skulls are a pretty big proponent of both holidays. For Halloween, plain skulls are used for decoration, costume inspiration, and more. For Día de los Muertos, skulls have a more celebratory connotation. For the holiday, it’s popular to paint sugar skulls and give as gifts to family and friends. It’s also common for people to paint their faces to resemble skulls. It’s important to know that skull-face makeup for Día de los Muertos is completely different than Halloween. For Halloween, it’s ghoulish and spooky while, for Día de los Muertos, it’s meant to honor those who have passed.
Marigolds
Flowers is a main aspect where the two holidays differ – there is no traditional flower for Halloween. For Día de los Muertos, marigolds are the main flower, and a big symbol, to the holiday.
Marigolds are popular for Día de los Muertos because they are vibrant in color. Their orange and yellow hues are the only colors that people believe can be seen from the afterlife. Because of that, their petals are often laid out in paths to guide traveling spirits back home. Think of the yellow brick road, but made out of marigold petals.
Secondly, marigolds have a strong scent, which also helps lead spirits.
To distinguish between the two holidays, try incorporating marigolds into Día de los Muertos displays. Their beauty and strong scent can entice shoppers to take a second look at the promotions.
Specialties
Believe it or not, even the produce specialties differ between the two holidays! Look around and there are plenty of pumpkins lining the aisles of different stores. It’s what Halloween is known for – for specialties like pumpkins, apples, and gourds. Día de los Muertos, on the other hand, tends to have more popularity among dried chile peppers, calabaza pumpkin, maguey, and banana leaf. Each recipe that incorporates these specialties has symbolism and meaning towards the holiday. You can read more about the traditional recipes here.